All my life, I’ve had an overactive imagination. When my parents failed to return from a party as expected, my panicked young self assumed them wrecked along some country road across the state. I lay awake all night until they came home.
Then I read them the riot
act.
As it happens, they decided
to stay overnight with those relatives hosting the shindig. This was, of
course, an era long before cellular phones. Why neither thought to call or even
leave a contact number in case of emergency is anyone’s guess. But knowing my father’s
extreme frugality back then, he likely didn’t want to incur a long distance
bill for either party.
Fast forward several years,
and the same happened with my now-husband when he drove a long, slow way in the
snow from a friend’s house on the route to visit me, then stopped and stayed
with his mother a few miles away. At least I heard from him before morning,
though I can’t recall who made the call. I might have reached out to his mom.
Either way, we still laugh
about my concerned rant so early in the relationship.
Now, my man has more foibles
than me, which makes my entire situation worse. This comes to mind today
because I decided to light some candles at my current laptop ‘desk’ before
realizing some laundry needs cycled and my hair dried after a swim.
I can’t walk away from these lit
votives for more than a minute or so without picturing the house going up in
flames, especially not when thinking of our California wildfire sufferers. DH would have
a fit if he saw me do such a thing, too.
It’s not a big deal, of
course. They’re just getting lower and lower, trickier and trickier to light.
Reading this, it seems I want
to delay today’s writing for some reason. It’s the only excuse I can see for
writing such a silly post.
Be that as it may, do you
like burning candles? Could you walk away for a bit without extinguishing them?
Candles do make me nervous. But, I would walk away from one if (1) It wasn't near anything flammable, (2) I wasn't going far (still in the house), and (3) It wasn't near anything that might gust and tip it over. I don't actually own any candles, so none of these are likely to happen.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since I've lit any. Heh... Good rules. Be well!
DeleteWe don't burn candles anymore. Can't take the scent even with the unscented ones. We have Firelight Oil candles that we use and it's just as nice with no smell. We do not walk away from them either. It's not wise.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and week, my friend. ♥
I thought of you and your fragrance sensitivity when my candles started to get an odor, however gentle. ~hugs~ Be well!
DeleteI won't even light a candle in my house. With 13 cats, it is just not wise :)
ReplyDeleteGood point! ~grin~
DeleteI like candles. Especially winter ones like cinnamon. I NEVER leave the room leaving them lit though. I don't trust them, or the cats. Things happen.
ReplyDeleteAs for your parents? That was outrageous, and so inappropriate for them to leave you overnight and NOT let you know they weren't coming home! A boyfriend at his mother's might not think to call, but parents? Of course, if you were a teen, I can hear them as they leave. "Darla, we might stay the night, so if we don't show up by bedtime, don't worry." And, you, glued to the phone or a book, nod, but it never registers!
Interesting point. I was a serious bookworm. ~grin~
ReplyDeleteCandles...love the smell before you lite them. I can stand in the store and smell them all. As for burning them, not so much. They just don't smell as good. Plus there is the walking off and leaving them burning. Like the one I turned on, yes...battery operated, that burned all night before I remembered I turned it on. Hence the reason I now have items that turn themselves off after a certain amount of time! Too many trips half way to work and have to turn around to check the curling iron. But for the items that don't turn themselves off like the stove, when I use them (haha....when, not often) I turn them off and I tell myself out loud that I did turn it off, that way if I am out and question myself then I remember that I told myself. Bad huh? haha...As for thinking the worst, I used to but have sort of trained myself not to do that anymore. But when the kids were teens I was bad and they did catch the wrath of mom more then once, or even twice! And the wrath of mom was not nice, then you add tears of fear and then tears of being happy they were okay, all hell could break loose. Oh, and I used to have a temper! As for being creative and writing, I have found that my thoughts are all over the place and rounding them up to write would be a big joke so I will stick with my creative in the arts of crafting and painting...and photography!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine you having a temper. ~nods~ You're so talented! I'll have to check your blog today, see what new beauty you have wrought. Heh...
DeleteOH MY GOSH....my temper was UNREAL. I would let things bother me and I would let them pile up, holding them in then I would explode! Yes, I used to say I should have been a redhead. I will have to consider blogging about some of those temper stories. I was around 35 or so when I finally realized that letting all that stuff build up, or better yet, letting all that stuff affect me like I did was only bad for me. I thought I would stroke or have a heart attack from my temper exploding like it did and I had a nice talk with myself. Me, Myself and I decided that I had to change how I viewed things. Don't get me wrong, I get mad now, but I tell folks more and I don't dwell on stuff, I let it go cause I realize I can't change any of it when it involves other folks.
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